Baghdad: A solitary walk through a crime scene

Poverty, fear and securitisation reign over Baghdad’s once-thriving downtown.

It was quiet in the gardens of Abu Nawas Street on a recent winter evening. I was taking a walk in downtown Baghdad and decided to stroll down the once-elegant boulevard stretching along the Tigris River. Clouds of smoke spewed from rubbish being burned near the edge of the water, stray dogs barked among solitary men who drank alcohol hidden in plastic bags. A drunkard squeezed his penis and leisurely sprayed his urine into a puddle. On the main road, the solemn faces of “martyred” and living militiamen in numerous street posters seemed to hurl threatening looks at the traumatised civilians stuck in traffic.